1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grip with increased soft feel and tackiness and with decreased torque and more particularly pertains to golf club grips which are more comfortable through increased softness and tackiness and more efficient through decreased torque.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of grips for golf clubs and other sporting implements of various designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, grips for golf clubs and other sporting implements of various designs and configurations heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of rendering such grips more comfortable and more functional are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,567 to Uffindell discloses a hand grip for a hand-held implement, e.g., a golf club, that consists of a rigid cap and a one-piece flexible foam tubular sleeve. The cap is structured to cooperate with the implement's handle shaft for locating and retaining the grip on that shaft, and for protecting the end of the shaft and the outer end of the foam sleeve. The one-piece flexible foam sleeve, preferably with an outer skin thereon to resist abrasion, provides a cushioned grip to the user. A method is also provided by which the rigid cap and foam sleeve grip are fabricated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,270 to Uffindell discloses a method of fabricating a composite foam hand held implement grip. A hand grip for a hand-held implement, e.g., a golf club, that consists of a rigid cap and a one-piece flexible foam tubular sleeve. The cap is structured to cooperate with the implement's handle shaft for locating and retaining the grip on that shaft, and for protecting the end of the shaft and the outer end of the foam sleeve. The one-piece flexible foam sleeve, preferably with an outer skin thereon to resist abrasion, provides a cushioned grip to the user. A method is also provided by which the rigid cap and foam sleeve grip are fabricated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,029 to Kolonia discloses a tool handle. A tool handle comprises a composite structure including a core member having a molded plastic outer coating over the core member, the molded plastic composite structure has a socket end, and intermediate section and a butt end. The socket end includes a substantially circular outside diameter for insertion into a socket portion of the tool on which the handle fits. The intermediate section is oval-shaped in cross-section along substantially the entire length thereof and has a transition portion connecting the circular socket end to the oval-shaped intermediate cross-section. The oval-shaped cross-section is effective to facilitate handling of the tool when the socket end is inserted into the socket portion of the tool. Particular features of the invention are directed to various specifically shaped core members, socket ends and butt ends. Other specific features of the invention are directed to the manner in which the tool handle is connected in a socket portion of a tool or with a shank portion of a tool. The tool handle of the invention is particularly useful with hand tools such as shovels, spading forks, pitch forks and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,420 to Sato discloses a grip of a golf club and a manufacturing method thereof. A grip of a golf club according to the present invention prevents slipping, when the grip is grasped by a hand opposite to a whip hand, by applying an area having a plurality of projections to the are of the grip corresponding to the respective bases of the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger of the palm of the hand opposite to said whip hand and to the palm located on the extension of the neighborhood of the base of the little finger of said palm. Also, since there is an area where a plurality of projections or dents are formed being separated independently one by one. Accordingly, when the whole of the element body of the grip is ground from the surface in a uniform depth, the fiber is exposed in the area having a plurality of plane portions and the fiber is not exposed in the area having a plurality of jogs. In this area where the fiber is exposed, a moderate non-slip effect is obtainable and soft grip feeling is presented.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,232 to Decker discloses a slip resistant, cushioning cover for handles. A slip-resistant, flexible, cushioning wrap for a handle comprising a laminate suitable for covering the handle. The laminate has a base layer of cushioning, non-absorbent closed-cell foam having an outer layer of washable, grip-enhancing, random and open-cell foam laminated to one side and having a pressure sensitive adhesive applied to the other side. The laminate may be formed as a sheet or a tube. A sheet of laminate may be cut to conform to the contours of the handle and then wrapped about the handle with the edges either overlapping of abutting. A tube of laminate may also be formed to fit the contours of the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,861 to Nakanishi discloses a ball hitting sports tool. A ball hitting sports tool has a ball hitting part and a grip part which is integrated with the ball hitting part through a stem and at least one of the ball hitting part, stem and grip part is provided with a buffer part in which a gel material with a penetration value of approximately 50 to 200 is used as a buffer material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,192 to Marui discloses a multiple radius grip. A cushioned grip having a unitary tubular-shaped body portion with an asymmetrical off-center cross-sectional shape. The asymmetrical off-center shape provides increased cushioning on portions thereof while retaining a moderate sized circumference. The asymmetrical cross-sectional shape provides a first portion having a first thickness of cushioning material, a second portion having a second lower thickness of cushioning material and a third portion of further reduced thickness of cushioned material. The third portion of cushioning is provided with a flat surface to provide a positive and solid feel to the fingers while grabbing the grip. The center's curvature defined by the outside of the cross-sectional shape of the grip is displaced from the center of the inside portion which is generally circular and adapted to receive a hard round member such as a bicycle handlebar to be cushioned. The cushioning thickness may vary from a relatively small value at one end of the grip to a maximum in a central region and reducing again to a smaller thickness at the other end to provide a varying circumference for different size hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,793 to Chen discloses a racket handle cap of a pliant material in single piece injection molded construction and comprises an opening at one end therefrom elongatedly extending along a grip portion to a flaring section to define an internal cavity, an adhesive tape and a plurality of counter weights. The grip portion has a plurality of oval circulation vents and circular air circulation vents which are respectively formed in rows for eliminating the air therethrough by inserting the handle part of a racket frame thereto. The counter weights respectively conform in shape with the oval circular air circulation vents for defining their optional and removable insertion to the oval and circular air circulation vents, whereby the weight adjustment and distribution of said racket handle cap being achieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,804 to Uke discloses a hand grip for sporting equipment or tools. A handle grip for fitting on the handle shaft of a sporting implement or tool, for example a racket or bat, comprises an elongate sleeve of elastomeric material having an internal surface for fitting over the handle shaft and an outer, gripping surface for gripping by the user's hand. The grip has indentations on at least one of its inner and outer surfaces which extend over part of the surface area to provide regions of varying softness. The softness is provided by the thinned out or indented regions bending or collapsing under load against the hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,734 to Glava discloses an attenuating handle for recreational and work implements. A hand-operated implement, which is a shock-producing or vibration-producing implement, having an attenuating handle. The implement has a handle attached to the implement, which handle has a central core, a gripping surface and a gel shock- or vibration-absorbing material positioned adjacent to or recessed in the core and under the gripping surface, wherein the gel shock- or vibration-absorbing material is a gel having a cone penetration between about 100 and 350 (10-1 mm) and an ultimate elongation of at least 100 percent and wherein the thickness of the gel shock- or vibration-absorbing material is sufficient to substantially maintain a shock- or vibration-absorbing separation between the core and at least a portion of the gripping surface, provided that the thickness of the gel shock- or vibration-absorbing material is less than that which interferes with the use of control of the implement, thereby absorbing the shock or vibration produced by the implement without significantly changing the operating control characteristics of the implement. Also disclosed is a method of attenuating shock and vibration in a handle of an implement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,665 to Downey discloses a golf club grip formed of a plurality of materials and method of manufacture thereof. The golf club grip is formed of a hollow, inner socket and an outer jacket produced from different charges of thermoplastic rubber. The socket and jacket differ in stiffness characteristics, colors, or both stiffness and color. The outer jacket is molded onto the socket and bonded thereto throughout the surface of contact therebetween. The torsional stress on the jacket is transmitted to and resisted by the inner socket through the bonding that occurs throughout the interface between the jacket and the socket. Preferably, the socket has an inner socket core portion with a plurality of radially projecting protrusions. The structure of the jacket laterally surrounds the protrusions so that the outermost surfaces of the protrusions are exposed. The golf club grip is produced from a pair of identical mounting cores which are rotated between a pair of molding dies. The sockets are first produced on one mounting core in a first die, and the first mounting core with the socket thereon is cyclically moved into the second die. While the jacket of the golf club grip of the invention is being molded onto the socket just produced in the first die, a new socket is concurrently produced on the second mounting core, which has been moved into the first die.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,290 to Minami discloses a golf club grip. A golf club grip has a double-layer structure comprising an inner layer and an outer layer aminated on the outer surface of the inner layer. One of the inner and outer layers is made of a first material, while the other layer is made of a second material. The first material has an elasticity which is higher than that of the second material so that the first material is more readily elastically deformable than the second material, while the second material has a viscoelasticity which is higher than that of the first material.
In this respect, the golf club grip with increased soft feel and tackiness and with decreased torque according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of rendering a golf club grip more comfortable through increased softness and tackiness and more efficient through decreased torque.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved golf club grip with increased soft feel and tackiness and with decreased torque which can be used for rendering a golf club grip more comfortable and more efficient. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.